1. To put someone to death as part of a legal or extralegal process as punishment for murdering a person, or people: "Matt was captured, tried, and executed for murder."
2. To complete or to carry out an action or movement; especially, one requiring skill: "The pilot was rewarded for executing an emergency landing which saved hundreds of lives."
3. To put an instruction or plan into effect: "They carefully executed the plan for the project as was previously worked out."
4. To run a computer file or program in response to a command or instruction: "The computer program has been executing the program much more efficiently than it did before."
5. To produce or to create something; such as, a work of art, to a specific design: "The painting was executed in bright colors."
6. To carry out the terms laid out in a will, a legal document, or a legal decision: "The lawyer was asked to execute the provisions of their father's will."
7. To sign a will or other legal document in the presence of witnesses in order to make it binding: "Truman's son was executing his mother's will by signing it in front of the other members of the family."
8. Etymology: literally "to follow out" and so execute came to mean "to carry out a death sentence".

"Execute also means "to carry out a plan" or "to perform" as:

• "The architect's plan for the new building was executed in every detail."
• "The ballet dancer executed a spectacular leap that made the audience cheer with approval."